Published author of YA and adult paranormal romance, horror, urban fantasy short stories, novellas and novels. On this site you'll find writing advice, information on my work, book reviews, author interviews and more…

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Book Review: The Amazon Chronicles: A Collection Sarah Mäkelä

Synopsis:

The Amazon Rainforest still contains a few secrets.

One of these secrets is a hidden village of women whose history is filled with the horror of conquering men. When the princess of the Amazons falls in love with a weretiger biologist, the tiny village will be changed forever.

Sarah Mäkelä loves her fiction dark, magical, and passionate. She is a paranormal romance author, but she’s written all over the romance spectrum with cyberpunk, sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy…even a sweet contemporary romance!

A life-long paranormal fan, she still sleeps with a night-light. In her spare time, she reads sexy books, watches scary movies (and Ghost Adventures), and plays computer games with her husband. When she gets the chance, she loves traveling the world too.

This is a collection of 4 linked novellas all centred around a female warrior tribe. The interplay between each story was lovely and the very last one tells the tale of the children of the couples from the previous stories, so is a nice way to end the collection and hint at the HEA endings without rubbing them in the readers’ faces.

I must admit though that I’m still unsure about the whole ‘mated’ business that seems to endlessly crop up with shifter stories, and this does feature quite heavily through all the Amazon novellas. I do think that when you ‘mate‘ characters in a book, it’s kind of a cheat. By doing this they will love each other without much build-up, plot devices or character arcs. Maybe it’s just my cynical nature, but instantaneous love at first sight never happens and it all boils down to what I keep saying about paranormal romance – the more realism you can put in these stories, the more believable the whole scenario becomes and the more the reader invests in your tall tale of the supernatural.

From a writer’s perspective, there was one particular stand-out story in the bunch – but, like anthologies, it can’t be helped to pick a favourite and compare all the others to it. The writing was good and it had a great balance of plot and spice. Although, again I must say that it relied a little too much on the ‘I want them as my mate’ troupe for my tastes. Contrary to popular belief there are not that many animals in nature that mate for life – they tend to be more of a ‘love the one you’re with’ bunch.

The front cover is lovely, very expressive of the overall characters and feel of the book. I like the colours very much and it was the reason I picked this book to review – I know, I’m so shallow!

Overall I’d give The Amazon Chronicles 4 out 5 stars. A little bit of jungle romance to warm you on a dreary winter night.

Bad Blood – Battle of the Undead #1

“I am Britannia. I am your protector. I will fend off the hungry hordes of undead hands that reach toward you. I am your steadfast defender. I will stand between you and the zombie masses as they try to taste your flesh. I am strong, unyielding, and dedicated to your survival. All I ask from you… is your blood.”

Bad Blood Reviews

5 Stars: This book is freaking Awesome! I read it in like three hours! I couldn’t put the book down the action was mind blowing and the story was riveting! Amanda Masters Reviews

5 Stars: Now, the main reason I loved this book so much was the action. Every word describes action. Every page has action. I also really love the author’s selection of different species of the book and the contrast between the two: the vampires and the zombies. Girl in the Wood Reviews

4 Stars: Bad Blood brings an exciting new take on Vampires. I have to admit, vampire books have been boring me lately, but when you add zombies to the mix…. Loved it!! Genie (Goodreads)

5 Stars: I loved it.. Not really into a Zombie Book, but because it had Vampires I gave it a try and wow.. really a fast paced action book for a short read. Valerie (Goodreads)

Bad Timing – Battle of the Undead #2

Bad Timing - Battle of the Undead #2 out now!

Traitors’ Gate – Battle of the Undead #0.5 – FREE READ

About Nicky Peacock

My published books

Bad Blood – Battle of the Undead #1

So Long and Thanks for all the Brains – Available: http://www.amazon.co.uk/So-Long-Thanks-All-Brains-ebook/dp/B006T3L2CW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410436510&sr=8-1&keywords=so+long+and+thanks+for+all+the+brains